Rewilding the Southern Iberian System: Restoring Spain’s Highland Ecosystems

• The 'Sistema Ibérico Sur' rewilding project is restoring ecosystems in Spain’s depopulated highlands through natural grazing and species reintroduction.
• Over 170 large herbivores, including Serranos horses, tauros, and European bison, have been introduced across public and private lands near Alto Tajo.
• The project aims to restore natural processes, boost biodiversity, and reduce wildfire risk by controlling flammable vegetation through semi-wild grazing.
• Socioeconomic development is a core pillar, creating 23 direct local jobs and supporting ecotourism activities.

Ecological Restoration Strategy

• The initiative focuses on bringing back lost ecological functions rather than just preserving current states.
• Large herbivores replace the lost livestock and extinct wild predecessors (uro and tarpan) that historically maintained open pastures.
• Strategic goals include developing a network of mature forest reserves, promoting scavenger bird recovery, preparing for the Iberian lynx's return, and removing river barriers.
• Experimental bison reintroductions are underway to study their unique role in consuming woody vegetation, which may further suppress wildfire fuel loads.

Project Scope and Implementation

• Operating primarily in the Alto Tajo region, the project spans Sierras de Albarracín, Cuenca, and the Parameras Ibéricas.
• Since 2022, the Serranos horse population in Mazarete has grown from 11 to 51, organized into natural family units.
• The herd of tauros (Heck cattle) has expanded from 12 to 58, functioning as a proxy for the extinct wild aurochs.
• Reintroductions include Pottoka horses and, as of this year, a research-focused herd of nine European bison.

Criticisms and Funding

• The project relies on private donations and the 'Endangered Landscapes and Seascape Program,' funded by Arcadia (Tetra Pak heirs) and Cartier.
• Critics argue that the involvement of large corporations constitutes greenwashing, given their industrial environmental impact.
• Use of international carbon markets—where the project offers carbon credits for preserving mature forests—is challenged by climate activists as a 'false solution' that facilitates further corporate emissions.